The song I chose is “Welcome To The Rock” from the musical Come From Away, written by Irene Sankoff and David Hein. Come From Away is a musical that details what happened to the people on the 38 planes that had to be redirected to Newfoundland after that attacks on 9/11, and “Welcome to the Rock” is the first song of the musical that introduces the residents of a town in Newfoundland called Gander, as well as how they learn of the terrorist attacks. Sankoff and Hein are co-writers of the musical who were approached by the producer after their success on a previous musical they wrote. This musical and this song are very close to me because I went to see Come From Away for a school trip, and it ended up being one of the most heartwarming experiences I had ever felt in my entire life.

In the song, the melody has a very distinct flow, where, in each singing section, the melodic pattern of one line is established, then the following two lines keep the same pattern but makes the melody start on one note lower each time, until the fourth line leads into the resolution. The second, third, and fifth singing sections slightly alter the original melody, but they keep the same general flow mentioned above. Some of the sections also have a consistent chant of “I’m an islander” fitted between them. However, the fourth section has a much slower and calmer melodic pattern that is different from the rest of the sections. This is because that section is a different musical idea that gets developed throughout the musical. As for the texture of the song, it clearly has a homophonic texture. The song is primarily led by the numerous vocal parts that give the main melody of the song. The percussion and other instruments only serve to accompany the vocal parts by keeping the beat and establish the chordal movement. The instrumental parts are also useful for maintaining the foundation of the song during the speaking parts, which help the performers and the listeners hold their focus on the song even when no melody is being played.